title. Investigation project "Passages of the BRT" part of the investigation group "Construction of the Public" / Architecture Department
date. 2015
city. Bogotá
authors. Sofía Marín
institution. Universidad de los Andes
professor. Isabel Arteaga
This investigation consisted in analyzing the BRT pedestrian bridges in Bogotá from an urban point of view, initially the north and the 80th line. The aim was to distinguish the different dynamics that are created around bridges and to understand these as they develop in different places within the critical time bands: peak hours and off-peak hours. For this purpose, the bridges were classified into five categories:​
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Single bridge
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Double bridge
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Bridge connected to shopping center
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Level crossing
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Bridge without station.
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Three of the five categories were chosen, from which one passage was selected for each one. With this, the aim was to carry out a systematic study of the dynamics that bridges create, a systematization form was developed based on the methods of Jan Gehl in his book "How to study public life". The format was created based on five axes: flows, permanence in public space, activities in public space, activities associated with transport and demand for activities associated with public space. To test the effectiveness of the tool, a previous data collection was made to be able to put it into practice in the field and thus specify the form.
The stations chosen for data collection were: Alcalá station in category two (double bridge), Titán Plaza in category three (bridge connected to a shopping center) and Las Flores station for category four (level crossing). The data was taken three times at different hours, for one hour; weekdays in off-peak hours from 4 to 5 pm, then in peak hours from 5 to 6 pm and finally on weekends before noon. The objective was to understand that the dynamics of the same place vary due to flows.
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Once the data had been collected, it was systematized in a database, which made it possible to compare the samples from one station with another and at the same time the same station but at a different times.
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For this report the comparisons were made in off-peak hours, from 4pm with those at the weekend. First, the number of people who take the bridge to access the BRT system was compared with the number of people who use the passage only to cross the avenue.
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The charts shows how the bridges of this station act to connect the BRT system with the city and additionally as a safe possibility to connect the two banks of the avenue. In total, the bridge is used by 1,152 people to access the BRT system while 348 people use it to cross, that is, 30% of users make use of the passage to connect with what happens on the other side of the highway.
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The bridge is an element that weaves the public space that has been divided by the great avenues, which have been built hoping that the city will find a limit within them but that due to population needs, it inevitably continues to expand and these highways remain as large scars that pedestrians must navigate to get through.
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The following charts show the tendency of people that make any use of the passage regardless of their destination. It is interesting that since the two samples were taken within the valley period, the behavior lines are so similar even though they were taken on two different days. In other words, although fewer people make use of the bridge on Saturday, the behavior is similar both on Tuesday and Saturday. To conclude, it should be noted that although bridges help overcome the physical barriers posed by large avenues, the city continues to be fragmented. It is necessary to think about the development of the union between large areas of the city that have been divided by means of solutions that make life easier for pedestrians and bicycle users, understanding that the distances that they must travel should be limited and therefore the barriers must decrease.